Spire today introduced the LCG-HSR line of all-in-one closed-loop liquid CPU coolers, with two models, the CG-AE-LCG-H24SR-P featuring a 240 mm x 120 mm radiator, and the CG-AE-LCG-H12SR-P "Solo," with a 120 mm x 120 mm radiator. These coolers are characterized by a cubical pump-block, Nylon-sleeved coolant tubes, and one or two included CG-AE-H30K3AR-6PM fans. These fans feature RGB LED diffusers along the inner and outer walls of the frame, with 16 diodes taking input from a standard 4-pin RGB connector. Unlike the fan's standalone package, Spire isn't including RGB LED controllers with these coolers.

The included fans take in 4-pin PWM input, spin between 300 to 2,000 RPM with minimum airflow of 30 CFM, and noise-level ranging between 12 to 35 dBA, each. Both coolers support most common CPU socket types, including AM4, AM3(+), LGA2066, LGA2011(v3), LGA1366, and LGA115x. Spire is listing the CG-AE-LCG-H24SR-P at USD $80 and CG-AE-LCG-H12SR-P at USD $70, in 200-unit bulk quantities. Retail prices will be higher than these.

Thermalright today rolled out the Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme Rev. B CPU cooler. Thermalright has made changes to the design to make sure the fin-stack is slightly offset from the base in directions that free up headroom near the memory area and topmost expansion slot of a typical mainstream-desktop motherboard, giving you easy access to the memory and M.2 slots closest to the CPU socket.

Heat drawn from a heavier mirror-finished nickel-plated copper base is conveyed to the fin-stacks by eight 6 mm-thick heat pipes. The lavish use of heavy copper used in this heatsink make it tip the scales at 850 g, without fans. With both its fans installed, the Silver Arrow IB-E Extreme Rev. B can handle thermal loads of up to 320W. Each of the two included TY-143 140 mm fans spin between 600 to 2,500 RPM, pushing 31.4 to 130 CFM of air, with a noise output ranging between 21 to 45 dBA. Thermalright has updated the CPU socket support to include AM4 and LGA2066, besides LGA115x and LGA2011(v3). The heatsink measures 155 mm x 130 mm x 163 mm (LxWxH). The company didn't reveal pricing.

AMD will launch its 3rd generation Ryzen 3000 Socket AM4 desktop processors in 2019, with a product unveiling expected mid-year, likely on the sidelines of Computex 2019. AMD is keeping its promise of making these chips backwards compatible with existing Socket AM4 motherboards. To that effect, motherboard vendors such as ASUS and MSI began rolling out BIOS updates with AGESA-Combo 0.0.7.x microcode, which adds initial support for the platform to run and validate engineering samples of the upcoming "Zen 2" chips.

At CES 2019, AMD unveiled more technical details and a prototype of a 3rd generation Ryzen socket AM4 processor. The company confirmed that it will implement a multi-chip module (MCM) design even for their mainstream-desktop processor, in which it will use one or two 7 nm "Zen 2" CPU core chiplets, which talk to a 14 nm I/O controller die over Infinity Fabric. The two biggest components of the IO die are the PCI-Express root complex, and the all-important dual-channel DDR4 memory controller. We bring you never before reported details of this memory controller.

ENERMAX, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance PC hardware products, introduces LIQMAX III, the new generation of LIQMAX, one of the proclaimed AIO CPU cooler series from ENERMAX. Like the award-winning predecessors featuring superior cooling performance as well as rock-solid quality, LIQMAX III is built with a luminous Aurabelt water-block supporting synchronizabale RGB lighting with RGB motherboards from ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI. LIQMAX III is undoubtedly an excellent choice for mainstream water-cooled RGB gaming rigs.

The premium Aurabelt water-block provides luminous RGB lighting; besides, the exquisite water block is able to support RGB lighting synchronization with motherboards that come with 4pin RGB header(s) (12V/G/R/B). Users can select the preferred lighting styles via the RGB motherboard software.

Japanese cooling expert Scythe presents two special editions of its CPU Cooler models Kotetsu Mark II and Choten as part of the ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance series. Both products bundle their unique advantages with the fancy design of the TUF Gaming Alliance series and gorgeous RGB illumination.

Scythe Kotetsu Mark II TUF Gaming Alliance Edition is based on the award-winning Kotetsu Mark II, offering outstanding performance even for overclocking purposes at impressively low noise levels. The Scythe Choten TUF Gaming Alliance on the other hand, aims for much more compact PC case environments while providing excellent balance between size, compatibility and performance.

Alpenföhn today unveiled the Brocken ECO Advanced CPU cooler, available for pre-order through Overclockers UK in the EU. The Brocken ECO Advanced is the latest CPU cooler from German manufacturer Alphenfohn. It sports an asymmetrical design, with a compact size allowing almost universal compatibility of the adjacent RAM modules - no matter the height of the heat spreader.

The Brocken ECO Advanced offers an overall increased cooler size and with a new high performance fan gives cooling support for a TDP of 170 Watts; making it perfect for overclockers. It's ultra-quiet 120 mm WingBoost 3 fan, featuring redesigned blades and a fixed guide, increased volume flow whilst reducing total noise output.

MSI mid-March began quietly rolling out BIOS updates for its socket AM4 motherboards based on AMD 400-series chipset, with a very ominous BIOS change-log entry: "Support new upcoming AMD CPU." At first, we dismissed this for being the company's follow-up to its 6th March announcement of support for some of the newer Athlon processor models, namely the 220GE and 240GE. After updating our MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC with one of these BIOSes, however, we discovered a very interesting microcode string - AGESA COMBO-AM4 0.0.7.2.

Such a major change in AGESA shouldn't be warranted to add support for two new chips based on existing "Raven Ridge" architecture that both AGESA "Summit Ridge" and AGESA PiR (Pinnacle Ridge) series microcodes should be able to comfortably run. We spoke with sources familiar with AMD microcode, who revealed that this AGESA COMBO-AM4 0.0.7.2 is designed for the upcoming "Zen 2" microarchitecture, and its first socket AM4 implementation, codenamed "Matisse." AMD internal versions of AGESA with Matisse support begin with the version sequence 0.0.7.x., and as we head closer to formal launch of these chips, AMD could release a 1.0.0.0 version of "AGESA COMBO-AM4." For our B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, the BIOS version packing this new AGESA is v1.60, and we wager this board should now be able to run Ryzen "Matisse" engineering samples. Now, if we can only get our hands on one.

Noctua today presented its new NH-U12A premium-quality quiet CPU cooler. The NH-U12A is the latest, 5th generation of Noctua's award-winning U12 series of 120mm size coolers. Conceived to push the envelope of the 120mm form factor, it combines two of Noctua's flagship model NF-A12x25 PWM 120mm fans with a completely redesigned heatsink featuring 7 heatpipes and an increased fin surface area for superior heat dissipation. This way, the NH-U12A can rival the performance of many 140mm sized coolers while offering 120mm class case and PCIe compatibility.

"The original NH-U12 was the very first product we introduced back in 2005 and the U12 series has been at the core of our product line-up ever since," explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "Today, we're proud to continue this successful legacy by introducing the 5th generation that provides even better quiet cooling performance, which enables it to compete with much larger units while offering superior compatibility. In a nutshell, the NH-U12A is an ideal choice for customers who are looking for a cutting-edge cooler that's hassle-free to integrate in most setups."

Intel is rumored to refresh its high-end desktop (HEDT) platforms this Summer with new products based on the "Cascade Lake" microarchitecture. Intel now has two HEDT platforms, LGA2066 and LGA3647. The new "Cascade Lake-X" silicon will target the LGA2066 platform, and could see the light of the day by June, on the sidelines of Computex 2019. A higher core-count model with 6-channel memory, will be launched for the LGA3647 socket as early as April. So if you've very recently fronted $3,000 on a Xeon W-3175X, here's a bucket of remorse. Both chips will be built on existing 14 nm process, and will bring innovations such as Optane Persistent Memory support, Intel Deep Learning Boost (DLBOOST) extensions with VNNI instruction-set, and hardware mitigation against more variants of "Meltdown" and "Spectre."

Elsewhere in the industry, and sticking with Intel, we've known since November 2018 of the existence of "Comet Lake," which is a 10-core silicon for the LGA1151 platform, and which is yet another "Skylake" derivative built on existing 14 nm process. This chip is real, and will be Intel's last line of defense against AMD's first 7 nm "Zen 2" socket AM4 processors, with core-counts of 12-16.

Alphacool today unveiled the Eisbaer Solo Chrome DIY pump+block, a variant of Eisbaer Solo that features a chrome mirror-finish body along three out of four sides, and the top, with a clear acrylic window covering one of the sides. You plumb your own coolant tubes and radiator to the contraption, which combines the functionality of a CPU water-block, a 70 l/h pump, and reservoir into one. The pump features an ultra low-noise ceramic bearing and operational speed of 2,600 RPM and a maximum head of 0.85 m. The package includes mounting brackets for LGA2066/2011, LGA115x, LGA1366, and AM4 sockets; in addition to some thermal compound. Available now, it is priced at 54.95€ including taxes.

Noctua today announced that all of its current multi-socket desktop CPU coolers, such as the popular NH-D15, NH-U14S and NH-U12S, now also include installation hardware for the AM4 socket of AMD's Ryzen processors. Although Noctua introduced its dedicated SE-AM4 models in early 2017 and has provided free-of-charge upgrade kits ever since the launch of the AM4 platform, the updates of the existing multi-socket models now allow customers to install them on all current mainstream sockets without ordering extra mounting kits. As suggested retail prices remain unchanged, the updates come at no extra cost to the customers.

"We've supported AMD's Ryzen platform with our SE-AM4 models and free-of-charge mounting upgrades from the very beginning", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "As with Intel's LGA115x and 20xx platforms, our customers have greatly appreciated our free upgrade policy. We've provided many thousands of free mounting kits and quite a few customers have migrated 10-year-old heatsinks they had already used on several socket generations. This means a lot to us and we'll continue to offer the free kits of course. However, with AM4 becoming more and more popular, we think it is time to also include the mountings with our existing models so that customers have everything at hand when they purchase new coolers."

AMD's socket AM4 and socket TR4 chipsets are originally designed by ASMedia. With its "Zen" family of processors being full-fledged SoCs, the motherboard "chipset" only serves to increase connectivity, and ASMedia already holds certifications for key groups such as the PCI-SIG, USB-IF, SATA-IO, NVM-Express group, etc. It's being reported now that ASMedia will develop some, if not all 500-series chipsets, with the exception of X570. The X570 will be an in-house design by AMD, which will use its own foundry partners (likely GloFo 14 nm) to manufacture it. This presents AMD with an opportunity to harden it against vulnerabilities, and have greater control over pricing, not to mention overcoming key design shortfalls of "Promontory," such as downstream PCIe connectivity.

This flies in the face of speculation that AMD would discontinue ASMedia's supply of chipset, especially in the wake of the "Chimera" vulnerability affecting "Promontory" 300-series and 400-series chipsets. The supposedly security-hardened 500-series chipset will feature PCI-Express gen 4.0 certification. What this means is that the chipset bus between the AM4/TR4 SoC and the chipset will be PCI-Express 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps), translating to double the bandwidth. It remains to be seen if the downstream PCIe lanes put out by the chipset are gen 4.0, too. Current 400-series chipsets continue to put out stale gen 2.0 lanes, compensated for by additional gen 3.0 lanes put out by the SoC. Sources also mention that ASMedia-supplied chipsets will only hit the market toward the end of 2019, which means AMD X570 could be the only 500-series chipset option between the mid-2019 launch of 3rd generation Ryzen, and late-2019. You should be able to run these processors on older socket AM4 motherboards via BIOS updates, though.

Sometime mid-2019, AMD will launch its 3rd generation Ryzen "Zen 2" processors with core counts of up to 16 cores in the AM4 package. These processors will launch alongside the new AMD 500-series desktop chipset family, led by the X570. AMD assures backwards compatibility of these processors with older chipsets provided motherboard vendors support their customers with BIOS updates. You'll probably need a 500-series chipset motherboard to use PCI-Express gen 4.0 connectivity, while older chipsets will limit connectivity to gen 3.0 (not that there are any GPUs that use gen 4.0).

ASRock is developing as many as nine motherboard models based on the AMD X570, according to a list scored by VideoCardz. These include the X570 Phantom Gaming X and X570 Taichi leading the top-end; X570 Phantom Gaming 6, X570 Phantom Gaming 4, and X570 Extreme4 covering the mid-range, and the entry-level of the lineup consisting of the X570 Pro4/R2.0 and X570M Pro4/R2.0.

The leading global motherboard and graphics card manufacturer, ASRock, pleasure to announce the world's first AMD based Mini STX Platform - DeskMini A300 at CES 2019. It adopts with AMD A300 chipset, not only supports AMD AM4 65W APU, but also provides up to 32GB DDR4-2933MHz high-speed memory, which leads to outstanding computing power and 3D performance. DeskMini A300 offers up to 4 storage interfaces, supports three display outputs simultaneously, M.2 Wi-Fi module and various accessories within 1.9 Liter compact size. DeskMini A300 is an ideal choice to build a home entertainment PC and mini data center.

DeskMini A300 features the brand new A300M-STX motherboard. Continuing the design of the ASRock DeskMini series, the AMD AM4 socket is able to support the Bristol Ridge and Raven Ridge's 65W APU, as well as two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots, which can support up to 32GB of capacity. With overclocking memory module, it will power up 20% of 3D gaming performance even more . Moreover, the DeskMini A300 supports three display outputs simultaneously, greatly improves the user experience.

The leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, is proud to introduce the new ASRock Steel Legend motherboard series. ASRock Steel Legend motherboards are built around the most demanding specs and features to provide a wide array of materials, components, and features that ensure stable and reliable performance. Steel Legend motherboards stand out from the crowd through its massive and luscious XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsinks, I/O Armor, PCI-E Steel Slot, Polychrome Sync (Addressable RGB LED) support, and detailed PCB print on Sapphire Black PCB for mainstream users, gamers, and professionals that choose to work and play in style. With support for the latest AMD Ryzen processors, as well as high-quality audio featuring the highest quality Nichicon golden audio caps and signal shielding integrated into the PCB.

ASRock has gone to great lengths to ensure optimum stability and protection. With ASRock Full Spike Protection on all USB, Audio and LAN ports, users are always protected from Lightning/ESD damage, which is a comforting thought when using Steel Legend motherboards in challenging environments. Use of Premium 60A Power Chokes and Nichicon 12K Black Caps means not only that the B450 Steel Legend and B450M Steel Legend will remain rock solid no matter the task, but it also keeps your system stable when overclocking, for extra performance, whether you're gaming or rendering professional content.

ENERMAX, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance PC hardware products, is expanding the acclaimed RGB liquid cooler series, LIQFUSION, with the addition of a 360mm AIO cooler. After the launch of the 240 variant, LIQFUSION has got users' attention and recognition for its cooling performance and brilliant lighting effects. With the larger cooling surface, LIQFUSION 360 is able to easily handle a large amount of heat produced by the overclocked CPUs. Moreover, LIQFUSION comes with an addressable RGB-sync waterblock featuring patented flow indicator, which allows the users to monitor the status of coolant flow. Along with ENERMAX addressable RGB fans, LIQFUSION can create visual appealing lighting effects.

LIQFUSION can sync the RGB lighting with motherboards featuring addressable RGB headers (4-pin assignment: +5V/D/-/G). Users can select preferred effects via the motherboard RGB software with 16.8 million color options. On the other hand, for those who use non-RGB motherboards, they can use the included RGB control box to select preferred lighting color, speed, and effects (10 pre-set effects).

At its CES 2019 keynote, AMD unveiled two killer client-segment products, the Radeon VII graphics card, which beats the GeForce RTX 2080; and a sneak preview of the 3rd generation Ryzen socket AM4 processor based on the company's "Zen 2" microarchitecture. As part of the unveil, CEO Lisa Su demonstrated an 8-core/16-thread 3rd generation Ryzen prototype processor in a head-to-head CineBench nT face-off with the Intel Core i9-9900K processor, which has the same core-count. The Ryzen narrowly beat the Intel flagship. Following this, Dr. Su held up a de-lidded sibling of the processor that was tested, revealing not one, but two dies.

This confirms that AMD is taking the heterogeneous multi-chip module approach to building its 3rd generation Ryzen processors, much like its 2nd generation EPYC processors that were unveiled late last year. The MCM of the processor Dr. Su held up had two chips, the smaller chip is an 8-core CPU chiplet built on the 7 nm process, that appears to have the same die-size as the 8-core chiplets that make up the 64-core 2nd gen EPYC MCMs, the larger die is an I/O controller logic built on the 14 nm process. This die controls the memory, PCIe, and SoC connectivity of the package. We noticed something curious about the way the two dies are arranged on the package substrate.

CPUs or GPUs? Ryzen 3000 series up to 16 cores or keeping their eight? Support for raytracing? Navi or die-shrunk Vega for consumer graphics? The questions around AMD's plans for 2019 are still very much in the open, but AMD's Lisa Su's impending livestream should field the answers to many of these questions, so be sure to watch the full livestream, happening in just a moment.You can find the live stream here, at YouTube.

18:33 UTC: Looking forward, Lisa mentioned a few technology names without giving additional details: "... when you're talking about future cores, Zen 2, Zen 3, Zen 4, Zen 5, Navi, we're putting all of these architectures together, in new ways".

18:20 UTC: New Ryzen 3rd generation processors have been teased. The upcoming processors are based on Zen 2, using 7 nanometer technology. AMD showed a live demo of Forza Horizon 4, using Ryzen third generation, paired with Radeon Vega VII, which is running "consistently over 100 FPS at highest details at 1080p resolution". A second demo, using Cinebench, pitted an 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 3rd generation processor against the Intel Core i9-9900K. The Ryzen CPU was "not final frequency, an early sample". Ryzen achieved a score of 2057 using 135 W, while Intel achieved a score of 2040 using 180 W.. things are looking good for Ryzen 3rd generation indeed. Lisa also confirmed that next-gen Ryzen will support PCI-Express 4.0, which doubles the bandwidth per lane over PCI-Express 3.0. Ryzen third generation will run on the same AM4 infrastructure as current Ryzen; all existing users of Ryzen can simply upgrade to the new processors, when they launch in the middle of 2019 (we think Computex).Ryzen third generation uses a chiplet design. The smaller die on the right contains 8-cores/16-threads using 7 nanometer technology. The larger die on the left is the IO die, which consists of things like the memory controller and PCI-Express connectivity, to shuffle data between the CPU core die and the rest of the system.

Be Quiet invited us to its product unveil suite on the sidelines of CES 2019. The company unveiled six new products, most of which are variations or improvements of existing products in the company's stack. The lineup begins with Dark Base 700 White Edition, limited-edition (3,000 units) ATX mid-tower. The case combines all-white interiors with mostly-white exteriors, black mesh accents along the sides, with RGB LED embellishments, and clear tempered glass. The case retains the remaining feature-set from the Dark Base 700, and is expected to be priced at 189.95€.

Also shown here is a Dark Rock Slim 120 tower-type CPU cooler with a single fan. This cooler is rated to handle thermal loads of up to 180 W (TDP), and hence only supports mainstream-desktop CPU sockets such as LGA115x, AM4, and probably even LGA2066. The fin-stack features a high-clearance fin design that curves inward. Slated for Q2-2019, the cooled is expected to be priced around 50€. Three color variants of the company's existing fan lineup were shown, including matte-black and all-white variants of Shadow Wings 2, and a new high-RPM version of Pure Wings 2, with up to 1,600 RPM for the 140 mm variant, and up to 2,000 RPM for the 120 mm one. Available from January 2019 (later this month), prices of these fans could range between 12.50-13.90€.

Raijintek today introduced the Pallas 120 RGB, a refresh of the original Pallas from 2014. Raijintek has made four key changes to its design. To begin with, the mirror finish nickel-plated copper base from the original has been replaced with a direct-touch base, where the cooler's six 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes make direct contact with the CPU. The second big change is the black coated aluminium fin-stack and heat-pipes, which offer a matte appearance. Thirdly, the change reflecting the namesake - the fan featuring RGB LED illumination using 10 diodes (4-pin standard RGB header); and lastly, support for newer sockets AM4 and LGA2066, in addition to LGA115x and AM3+.

The C-type heatsink offers a height of just 68 mm, making it perfect for low-profile builds, provided you can find room around the CPU socket for the cooler's vast width and depth. Measuring 130 mm x 146.8 mm x 68 mm (WxDxH), it weighs 550 g, including the fan. The fan specs are mostly unchanged from the original. Drawing power from a 4-pin PWM header, and featuring a hydraulic bearing, it spins between 200 to 1,400 RPM, pushing up to 41.71 CFM of air, with a maximum noise output of 28.43 dBA. The company didn't reveal pricing.

ENERMAX, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance PC hardware products, announces the launch of a new all-in-one liquid cooler series, LIQTECH II. Responding the market demand of cooling solution for high-end CPUs, LIQTECH II can deliver enthusiast-grade cooling capacity of 500+ watts (TDP) and is compatible with both Intel and AMD sockets (except AMD sTR4).

Furthermore, certified by main motherboard makers (ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI), LIQTECH II can support the latest addressable RGB lighting synchronization with advanced motherboards featuring addressable RGB headers (pin assignment: 5V/D/-/G) to create dynamic visual effects. LIQTECH II is perfect for overclocked systems, image editing workstations, and high-end gaming machines.

One of our readers tipped us off with a very plausible looking image that drops a motherlode of information about what AMD's 2nd generation Ryzen (aka Ryzen 3000 series) processor lineup could look like. This includes a vast selection of SKUs, their CPU and iGPU core configurations, clock-speeds, and OEM channel pricing. The list speaks of a reentry for 7th generation A-series "Excavator" as Duron X4 series, followed by Duron 300GE-series based on a highly cut down "Raven Ridge," Athlon 300GE 2-core/4-thread based on an implausible "Zen+ 12 nm" APU die, followed by quad-core Ryzen 3 3000 series processors with and without iGPUs, making up the company's entry-level product lineup.

The core counts seem to jump from 4-core straight to 8-core, with no 6-core in between, for the Ryzen 5 series. This is also where AMD's new IP, the 7 nm "Zen 2" architecture, begins. There appears to be a large APU die (or a 3-chip MCM) with an 8-core CPU and 20-CU iGPU, which makes up certain Ryzen 5 SKUs. These chips are either 8-core/8-thread or 8-core/16-thread. The Ryzen 7 series is made up of 12-core/24-thread processors that are devoid of iGPU. The new Ryzen 9 series extension caps off the lineup with 16-core/32-thread SKUs. And these are just socket AM4.

Raijintek today introduced the MYA RBW, a large aluminium fin tower-type CPU cooler with addressable RGB embellishments. The cooler was first shown off at Computex 2018. Its design involves a heavy aluminium fin-stack with ridged fins that have increased surface area over flat fins, capped off by a composite top, with a silicone RGB LED diffuser, and a brushed metal top-plate. Heat drawn by six 6 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes pass through the fin-stack.

At the base, these heat pipes make direct contact with the CPU. A 13 mm-thick slimline hydraulic bearing 120 mm fan compensates for the fin-stack's thickness, as does the vertical offset in the fin-stack itself, freeing up room near your motherboard's memory slot area. The fan spins between 200 to 1,400 RPM, pushing up to 41.71 CFM of air and a 28.43 dBA minimum noise level. Measuring 130 mm x 86 mm x 163 mm (WxDxH), the cooler weighs about 925 g, including the fan. Among the CPU sockets supported are Intel LGA2066, LGA115x, and AM4. The company didn't reveal pricing.

MSI late November released BIOS updates for its entire range of socket AM4 motherboards, mainly to include AGESA 1.0.0.6, which improves memory compatibility. The updates also pack various motherboard model-specific fixes. Apparently there has been a goof-up with this update (not in a bad way, though). The latest BIOS updates "accidentally" unlock the otherwise locked Athlon 200GE dual-core processor with integrated graphics.

No, you won't get more cores or iGPU stream processors, but the base-clock multiplier letting you easily overclock the processor is now unlocked. This adds value to the $55 processor, given that competing Celeron and Pentium Gold SKUs are overpriced in the market these days. In their overclocking adventures with the 200GE paired with a MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard, TechSpot observed that the chip (which is clocked at 3.2 GHz by default) wouldn't POST beyond 3.90 GHz, and that you need vCore at 1.4 V to sustain even 3.90 GHz. They found 3.80 GHz at 1.35 V to be 100% stable (an 18.75% overclock). The memory clocks are still restricted to DDR4-2666, although you can still play with timings.

AMD seems to be picking up steam over Intel's previous sky-high dominance of the desktop CPU market (Intel still dominates aplenty, really; but AMD has been clawing back market percentage monthly). The latest figures from the German retailer show shoppers taking advantage of AMD's newfound competitiveness in the CPU space, with increasing sales momentum starting on June 2018 up to a staggering 69% total AMD units sold against Intel's 31% during the month of November.